After leaving behind the entire army of soul evolvers, Bai Zemin in the company of Chen He and Nangong Lingxin turned into blinking shadows. Their bodies seemed to flash in the midst of the grove, their steps so swift that the grass under their feet barely crunched slightly when their fingertips touched that spot on the ground for a brief moment before moving to the next one.
It only took them about five minutes to cross almost ten kilometers of distance and this was only because they were holding back; this was especially the case for Bai Zemin who was not even trying or else that distance would be closed in a brief instant. As for the other two, while they were holding back it was not that much compared to Bai Zemin.
An average distance of 33 meters per second…. Something like this was unthinkable in the past but now it was possible for those at high levels or with powerful active skills capable of boosting Agility.
"This Lightning Movement skill really is awesome." Nangong Lingxin commented as she felt her body become much lighter and more agile compared to her self before she activated the Second Order skill she obtained after consuming the treasure fruit that Bai Zemin bestowed upon her several days ago.
Since Nangong Lingxin's level was 25 and she was in the process of completing her breakthrough quest, her Agility was naturally lower than Chen He's not to mention Bai Zemin's. Therefore, she had no choice but to resort to her single most powerful movement skill.
Bai Zemin smiled slightly but did not comment too much on Nangong Lingxin's words. Every Second Order skill was powerful no matter how useless it seemed, it was up to the user to be able to take advantage of that skill. However, Lightning Movement was undoubtedly a superb skill.
If not for the fact that in order to advance to the Third Order it was necessary to obtain two Third Order Soul Stones and five Second Order Soul Stones, Bai Zemin would have already evolved this skill a long time ago.
"We reached the right place." Bai Zemin suddenly said and the two on both sides of him who were following closely behind stopped dead in their tracks.
"… This is the right place?" Nangong Lingxin couldn't help but mutter as she looked at the scene before her with lingering fear in her heart.
A ruined city partially covered by trees and other wild plants that were beginning to grow seemingly unchecked. Two large forests with dense forage covered the east and west of the ruined city, leaving only the south and north uncovered; the north was where the group of three led by Bai Zemin came from while to the south was a huge wooden wall several meters high.
"Isn't this the battlefield????" Chen He asked dumbfounded and unconsciously tightened his grip tightly on the bow in his left hand.
Before them, a large army could be seen in the distance pointing their weaponry forward. Moreover, the enhanced senses as soul evolvers silently warned them of the presence of a large number of hidden enemies.
Regardless of whether it was Chen He who had already reached level 39 or Nangong Lingxin who was close to breaking the threshold to enter the First Order, both of them felt their heads go numb. Even if they were strong, not one of them possessed the ability to take a bombardment of such magnitude. They would be torn to pieces in a second without even knowing how they died.
Bai Zemin ignored the surprise and fear of the two people next to him. Instead, he took a step forward and completely abandoned the protection of the forest. From the top of the small mountain he stood on, he looked at the battlefield below him with indifferent eyes and bellowed loudly:
"My name is Bai Zemin, I am a soul evolver and the Leader of the faction north of this place. As a token of kindness, I have allowed the high commanders of Baiquan Camp to surrender in order to avoid war, and hence most of you could have kept your positions and even your personal possessions. However, the two old dogs, Bai Yong and Jin Shun, were stubborn enough to reject my goodwill."
His words echoed throughout the length and breadth of the ruined city and even the soul evolvers and soldiers hid on both sides of the city caught a glimpse of his speech.
The voice was powerful, driven by a great surge of Mana and Magic that made many men shudder.
Several enemies unconsciously took a step back, wondering in terror how powerful this person who called himself Bai Zemin was. His voice alone had such a deterrent effect, so how powerful was he in reality? No one knew the answer but they were not eager to find out either.
Inside the command center, Jin Shun and Bai Yong were furious when they heard Bai Zemin's words through the intercom.
"That damn bastard!" Jin Shun slammed the table in front of him hard as his eyes flashed viciously. He picked up the intercom and after pressing a button shouted, "Sniper Team number 1 to 5, kill that bandit and don't let him continue talking anymore!"
"Sniper Team number 2 and number 3, shoot to kill." Bai Yong coldly ordered. Although he seemed calmer than Jin Shun, he was no less enraged.
When in his life had he, as mayor of one of the three major sub-districts of one of Beijing's big-city districts been treated like an old dog? There was no way someone like Bai Yong would tolerate such a thing!
In the war zone, several sniper teams immediately took up positions after receiving orders from their commanders. More than 20 snipers aimed their rifles, all of them targeting a single person so they easily covered most of the possible escape points.
Bai Zemin's Danger Sense skill made his body sting gently. His expression did not change at all as he calmly said, "Nangong Lingxin, activate your skill and protect yourself and Chen He."
Nangong Lingxin did not ask any questions and simply carried out the order she received. Her hands glowed with beautiful multicolored light and in a second a barrier two meters high and two meters wide appeared before her and Chen He.
Bai Zemin looked down again and shouted, "Those who put down their weapons will be spared, those who openly oppose will be mercilessly slaughtered!"
Before Bai Zemin could say anything more, several thunderous explosions resounded noisily from multiple points; the wall of Baiquan Camp, the inside of the ruined city, from both sides of the forest, even from positions that Bai Zemin did not immediately manage to perceive.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!….
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!….
…
QBU type 88, sniper type 97, JS type 2, and many other sniper models were fired at the same time.
Bai Zemin's body shuddered softly as he received several bullets hits practically at the same time. There was no part of his body that was not hit; head, chest, abdomen, legs, arms, heart, etc.
Just when that slight shuddering stopped, one last shot thundered like thunder in the middle of the storm.
BANG!
Bai Zemin's head tilted back, his eyes looking up into the clouds making it hard to see whether he had been wounded or not.
However, no one really believed that a human could survive something like this. Not only had he been shot about two dozen times, but many of those shots were armor-piercing bullets powerful enough to pierce through layers of concrete like it was nothing.
Especially the last shot fired by Xiao Li and his Barrett M95 sniper. The 12.7mm shell was powered by Xiao Li's skills; even a battle tank would be pierced through from side to side with ease!
How could an unprotected human survive such a thing? It was absolutely impossible! Everyone witnessed the enemy leader being hit directly in the forehead!
Chen He and Nangong Lingxin froze as they looked at Bai Zemin with trembling eyes, they didn't know if he was alive or dead.
Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds as the echoing gunshots, especially the last one, echoed throughout the war zone.
What happened next was not different from a nightmare for the defending army.
Slowly, the head of the leader of the enemy faction that was pointing skyward came down. Under the astonished eyes of the soldiers watching with binoculars and the disbelief of the snipers who had fired, two indifferent black eyes gazed at the world before them.
"I-Impossible!" Jin Shun shouted with wide eyes, "This is definitely impossible!"
Mayor Bai Yong's face turned as pale as a sheet. His body staggered back and had it not been for him hurriedly grabbing onto the table beside him he would have definitely lost his balance and fallen to the ground.
The eyes of Mo Zan and the two soul evolvers protecting Jin Shun widened. Neither of them could believe what they were seeing. They refused to accept the reality even though it was right in front of them.
Shen Mei's little mouth opened slightly and her pupils quivered fiercely. A shiver ran through her body as her gaze met that pair of black eyes as deep as black holes. Even though they were miles away, even though Shen Mei was only seeing an image projected by the cameras placed all over the war zone, she felt as if her very soul was about to fly out of her body.
Never in her life had she felt as much fear and helplessness as she was feeling now.
And no wonder!
If Bai Zemin had been protected by a treasure just like the little girl who rode a big black cat to evade the defenses and make the bombs planted underground explode, then they would not be surprised. However, they all saw how the bullets hit his body! Even if his body was mainly protected by shiny black armor, his head and part of his limbs were not!
"It must be some treasure, some transparent barrier must be covering his body secretly!" Mo Zan tried to find a valid reason and laughed nervously as he said aloud, "That firepower is more than enough to turn a war tank into a pile of scrap metal. How can a human's skin handle it? Forget a human, even a First Order mutant beast would be blown to bits!"
"Y- You're right." Mayor Bai Yong nodded viciously and as if he wanted to cling with his life to the small hope that had just appeared before him he said quickly, "Commander Jin, we'd better end this right away. We cannot allow this person called Bai Zemin to run away or else he will be the bane of our Baiquan Camp."
Jin Shun nodded and his eyes flashed with murderous intent like never before. If this young man before him were to escape alive from here today then Jin Shun would not be able to have another peaceful night's sleep!
With such a thought in mind, Jin Shun picked up the intercom and pressed a button as he said in a deep voice: "Armored team number 1 to number 10, move forward. Focus entirely on the enemy leader and ignore the other two! I want that bandit named Bai Zemin dead within ten seconds!"
Bai Yong was also not far behind and quickly barked out his command, "All soul evolvers, heed my order. Take advantage of the bombardment of Commander Jin's troops to surround the enemy. Those with detection skills, use them to find those hiding in the forest and decimate them completely!"
"Assault Team number 1 to number 20, advance slowly as the Armored Team moves."
"Special Forces number 5 to number 15, proceed with caution. You are allowed to fire at will at the slightest unknown movement regardless of who the other party is."
"Assassin Team number 7….."
"Team…."
Order after order was sent out one after another in a matter of seconds.
The battlefield immediately became hectic.
* * * * * * *
Mass release: 3/10
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